A little known American independent feature from 1982 that stands as one of the screen’s better depictions of the late 1960s. A heartfelt labor of love by its debuting director David Burton Morris (who’d go on to make the controversial 1988 indie PATTI ROCKS), it was filmed in his hometown of Minneapolis, MN, and set during the time of Morris’s own coming of age. The film, alas, had the misfortune of being released before sixties nostalgia was a thing, and so didn’t do the business it should have—and has since been stymied by music rights issues surrounding its soundtrack.
Music clearance problems have made for a great deal of “lost” media ranging from the AMERICAN FAMILY TV series to Todd Haynes’ short film SUPERSTAR, and resulted in PURPLE HAZE (whose song clearances were never renewed after its initial theatrical run) going MIA on home video and online streaming. Its soundtrack, FYI, happens to contain one of the most comprehensive collections of sixties rock ‘n’ roll hits ever assembled, with the Jimi Hendrix tune that gives the film its title as well as essentials like “Whiter Shade of Pale,” “Everyday People,” “White Rabbit” and “Foxy Lady” included.
They make for a good accompaniment to the exploits of Matt Caulfield (a decidedly pointed last name), who in the opening scene gets kicked out of Princeton for smoking weed in his dorm room. Upon hitchhiking back home to Squaresville, Minneapolis he finds nothing but disillusionment, with his father, sister and girlfriend opposed to his long hair and anti-establishment leanings. Matt finds solace with Jeff, an old friend who’s become a full-fledged Hippie Freak. The two embark on various misadventures, including a car chase with a cop, a brawl in a bowling alley and the utilization of a variety of illegal substances. But reality intrudes when Jeff is drafted to serve in Vietnam; Matt enlists in the army in solidarity with his friend, but is left adrift when Jeff suffers a fatal heart attack.
As the above paragraph indicates, there’s no real story to speak of. There is, however, an underlying tension, bequeathed by the air of barely-repressed anger emitted by Peter Nelson as Matt, which (mirroring the gist of the decade overall) eventually explodes into violence. So skilled is Nelson’s performance that the brutal and unsettled ending, which could have felt out of place, seems a perfect capper to the comparatively benign tone of what came before.
Add to that a wealth of authentic feeling costume design and period detail (there’s even a clip from that late sixties cinematic touchstone THE GRADUATE), and a potent sense of humor (sample dialogue exchange: “I smoke grass occasionally, but that hardly makes me an addict.” “What does it make you?” “Stoned, actually”), and you’ve got a “lost” artifact that demands to be rediscovered.
Vital Statistics
PURPLE HAZE
Triumph Films
Director: David Burton Morris
Producer: Thomas Anthony Fucci
Screenplay: Victoria Wozniak
Cinematography: Richard Gibb
Editing: Dusty Dennison
Cast: Peter Nelson, Chuck McQuary, Bernard Baldan, Susanna Lack, Bob Breuler, Joanne Bauman, Katy Horsch, Heidi Helmer, Tommy O’Brien, Dan Jones, Don Bakke, James Craven, John Speckhardt, Jean Ashley, Sarah Hennessy